When you become pregnant, right from that moment, your body begins to change in multiple ways! This process happens in order to support the cells that will eventually grow into a baby. One thing that occurs very rapidly is the hCG production in your body. Six to ten days after conception, the hCG levels begin to rise! Which means, this starts even before you start experiencing pregnancy symptoms.
The simplest method to find out whether you're pregnant is to take a home pregnancy test. If the results of your home pregnancy test are positive, you are pregnant, and if the test results are negative, you are not pregnant! After you find out about your pregnancy, you will visit your pregnancy care provider every few weeks until you give birth. In order to closely monitor the health of the fetus, certain visits involve blood testing!
One test you have to go for in your second trimester is the Quadruple Marker test, sometimes known as the quad screen. Your doctor may perform this straightforward blood test between weeks 14 and 22 of your pregnancy. A Quadruple Marker test can assist your doctor to find out if the fetus is suspected of having Down syndrome or other genetic problems, and that is why it is such an important test.
Home pregnancy tests are a useful yet simple method to find out about one’s pregnancy! Early in pregnancy, hCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) is produced by cells and this is the hormone that home urine pregnancy tests identify in the urine. Depending on the manufacturer, home pregnancy tests differ, and each one comes with certain instructions that must be followed! Even before the pregnancy symptoms show up, these home pregnancy tests can offer almost 99% accuracy, yet there is a chance of receiving inaccurate results. A test result that suggests that the woman is pregnant when they are not is known as a false positive!
What Causes a False-Positive Result?
False-positive pregnancy test results can be caused by a variety of factors, so, take a look at the causes if you receive a positive test result but later discover that you are not actually pregnant.
- Not using the test kit properly
- Chemical pregnancy
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Testing too soon after miscarriage/giving birth
Understanding False Negatives
False-negative results from home pregnancy tests are uncommon, but this can occur if your body hasn't created enough hCG pregnancy hormone for the test to detect even though you're pregnant. If you receive a false negative yet experience pregnancy symptoms, immediately visit a doctor for a blood pregnancy test! Take a look at these common reasons that can create a false positive result.
- Miscalculating the time of conception
- Your hormone levels were too low
- Not following the test instructions
Tips for Accurate Results
1. Don’t Take an Expired Test
Pregnancy test kits have an expiration date, and the chemical-detection sensors in the test kit may no longer be able to reliably identify the level of hCG in your body if you use an expired test kit.
2. Check the Result at the Correct Time
An at-home pregnancy test has a time restriction period within which you must check out the result, and if you check the test results outside of this window, the results may not be reliable. If you check for the result too late, it can give you a false positive! In the same way, try not to find out your pregnancy test results too soon, because it will take some time for the test to finish, and before that, you may get a false negative.
When to See a Doctor?
A positive pregnancy test result indicates that you are carrying a child because when you are pregnant, you have a certain level of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is detected by the test kit. Eight to ten days after conception, when the fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, the hormone known as hCG is produced in the body at a higher level. The hormone level then keeps rising steadily over the course of the following several months until you give birth. According to medical professionals, a home pregnancy test result is deemed positive if the amount of hCG in the urine is greater than 25 mlU/ml, and negative if it is less than 5 mlU/ml, taken approximately 12-14 days from expected conception.
If you see a negative test result, yet you start feeling pregnancy symptoms, you need to consult a doctor immediately! What’s more, if you see a positive result, it is time you go to a medical professional to start taking special care of yourself and your unborn baby. After a few months of pregnancy, when you are in your second trimester, your doctor will advise a Quadruple Marker test.
This Quad test is a diagnostic test that gauges the concentrations of four hormones in the blood of a pregnant woman! The quad screen's results show your likelihood of bearing a child with certain chromosomal disorders, such as Down syndrome. Identifying if your unborn child has any such severe health issues is one of the most important factors you should know about before giving birth! Your doctor will advise you on what to do next if this situation happens.
Conclusion
Home pregnancy tests are usually reliable, but there is always a 1% margin of error, which means, sometimes, you receive a false negative or false positive result! This is why if you see a false negative result yet feel nausea and other pregnancy symptoms, always visit a doctor. When it comes to a positive result, you need to see a doctor anyway to confirm the pregnancy with more reliable blood tests, and to be monitored by them during the pregnancy period. They will give you a Quadruple Marker test during your second trimester to find out if the baby has any genetic disorder. Never neglect to take this test, contact Pathkind Labs to take this test comfortably from your home when your doctor advises it!